wfn.org | Episcopalians: News Briefs

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July 18, 2002

2002-180

Episcopalians: News Briefs

French Protestants enter 'new era of relations' with Taize 
Community

(ENI) Leaders of the French Protestant Federation (FPF) have 
signaled what they are calling a "new era of relations" with 
Taize, one of the best-known ecumenical religious communities in 
Europe. The official delegation's recent visit to the hilltop 
community was the first since 1989.

Relations between the FPF and Taize began to deteriorate in 
the 1970s after several developments offended Protestant 
sensitivities. Brother Roger, founder of the community, took a 
stand in favor of priestly celibacy, for example, and his 
right-hand man, Brother Max Thurian, converted to Roman 
Catholicism and was ordained to the priesthood in 1987. The 
community has nurtured close ties with several recent popes.

Taize has always maintained strong ties with foreign 
Protestant and Anglican churches. This summer, for example, 
several Lutheran bishops from Sweden and Anglican bishops from 
Great Britain will spend time at the community.

"Taize occupies a particular place in the religious 
landscape," said Gil Daude, head of the FPF's ecumenical agency. 
"At Taize young people experience faith in an ecumenical 
setting. They discover, as it were, the universal church." Taize 
welcomes more than 100,000 youth every year for prayer and 
study. "We also are concerned with training a new generation 
committed to ecumenism," he added.

Archbishop of Canterbury commends interfaith relations

(Lambeth) Archbishop of Canterbury George L. Carey has 
underscored the importance of dialogue and the promotion of 
understanding through interfaith relations. At a recent 
interfaith meeting in North London, Carey said that the 
interfaith dimension had been a large and unexpected aspect of 
his own ministry.

"You may have heard me say it before, but I cannot resist 
saying again, how surprised I would have been, when I became 
archbishop over 11 years ago, to know just how much of my time 
was going to be spent in developing understanding, friendship 
and cooperation between the different faiths," he said.

Carey expressed his sadness that the Church of England's 
General Synod debate on Christian witness had been 
misinterpreted as a drive for conversion. "What our debate 
affirmed was that, as Christians, we have a responsibility to 
share our faith sensitively and respectfully. The Christian 
message includes a gracious invitation to others to hear the 
words of Christ. But that is a very different thing from 
crusading belligerence, or any attempt to coerce others to 
believe what we believe."

Carey said that personal friendships had developed among 
different faith leaders. "We have learned that there is no 
substitute for personal contact in encounters which lead to firm 
friendships; no substitute for hospitality, graciously given and 
graciously received; no substitute for wisdom and learning, 
shared amongst us; no substitute for differences honestly 
expressed and courteously heard," he added. "But above all, as 
we struggled to cope with the challenge of September 11th and 
all that it has meant for our different faith communities, no 
substitute for standing together when one of us is threatened."

Archbishop Ndungane of Southern Africa warns against despair 
as AIDS crisis deepens

(ACNS) Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, Anglican primate of the 
Church in Southern Africa, said that the message from the recent 
AIDS conference in Barcelona is clear: "the time for talk and 
political prevarication is over. Among the key challenges are to 
change behavioral patterns and to eradicate the stigma that 
makes it so difficult for people to seek the help they need."

Noting in his July 17 statement from Cape Town that recent 
United Nations reports conclude that the AIDS pandemic has yet 
to peak, and that the average life expectancy in Africa will 
soon be only 26 years, Ndungane said that "we dare not lose 
hope. We cannot allow ourselves to be paralyzed by despair and I 
am greatly concerned by subsequent reports that Barcelona killed 
that hope."

Ndungane said that "many of us have been re-enthused to work 
ever harder at facilitating a generation without AIDS," and he 
pointed to several hopeful developments. He included improvement 
in vaccines, public-private cooperation that now makes it 
possible to treat whole communities, and success in stemming the 
tide through aggressive prevention and a "dramatic reduction of 
stigma and discrimination against people living with AIDS." But 
he added, "All we need is the political will and commitment by 
both the public and private sectors."

Since AIDS is "not a shameful word in the households of 
Uganda," it has meant that "people come forward quickly for 
treatment and support," Ndungane said. "Similarly, Brazil 
reports a dramatic drop in the number of AIDS-related deaths, 
and has cut the average cost of treatment per patient in half."  
He argued that "it is not time to give up, but time for all 
sectors to rise above their agenda. For the good of those 
already living with HIV or AIDS and for future generations we 
need action now."

Dissenting Canadian clergy asked to clarify their intentions

(ACC) What began as a disagreement over theology, sexuality 
and its biblical interpretation may end up as a dispute on 
stacks of legal-sized paper as the Diocese of New Westminster in 
the Anglican Church of Canada asks dissident clergy a second 
time whether they are "in" or "out."

The controversy stems from a recent decision by the Diocesan 
Synod to permit the blessing of same-sex relationships, which 
prompted a walkout at the gathering by several clergy and 
parishes and statements of disassociation from the action. New 
Westminster Bishop Michael Ingham said in an interview that 
chancellor George Cadman has written to the 12 clergy asking 
them to clarify "whether they remain under my jurisdiction and 
authority." 

Priests pledge obedience to their bishop in their ordination 
vows. If the dissenting clergy do not pledge their obedience to 
their bishop, their licenses could be pulled. Disputes over land 
and buildings are also looming on the horizon, since some of the 
parishes have cut off their funding to the diocese.

It is the second time the diocese has sought clarification of 
the clergy's intentions. Ingham wrote the 12 individually in 
June asking whether their withdrawal from the diocesan synod was 
an act of protest or a resignation. If the clergy had resigned 
from the diocese, Ingham said, he would need to declare 
vacancies in those parishes affected. Clergy and members of 
parishes are free to leave the church at any time, he said, but 
the land and buildings are property of the diocese.

The clergy responded in a joint letter at the beginning of 
July that they still considered themselves "part of this 
diocese, but that relationship has been seriously strained by 
the passage" of the motion approving same-sex blessings. That, 
said Cadman in his advice to the bishop, is not a response. 
"They've merely said they wish to be part of the diocese," said 
Ingham. "It was highly ambiguous." The new deadline for clergy 
to respond individually was set for July 19.

Meanwhile, four parishes have withdrawn their financial 
support from the diocese and another four say they may do the 
same. The eight parishes involved (out of the diocese's total of 
79 parishes) account for nearly a quarter of the diocesan 
budget.

While there has been talk that the eight parishes might 
secede from the diocese and try to retain their buildings and 
properties, the diocese's position is that it owns parish 
properties and buildings. The diocese was formed by the British 
Columbia legislature's act of incorporation of 1893 and parishes 
are subunits of the diocese, said Mike Wellwood, business 
administrator of New Westminster. The diocesan chancellor has 
also prepared a written opinion on what happens to the property 
of parishes that wish to leave the Anglican Church of Canada. 
That opinion reads, in part, "Parishes have no separate 
corporate status except as part of the diocese ... Property can 
only be transferred or sold with the approval from diocesan 
council and the bishop."

Church of England bishop calls for separation of church and 
state rites 

(ENS) An Anglican bishop has called universal civil marriage, 
with the option of a subsequent church blessing, the solution to 
what he called "committing perjury" at the altar.

Bishop Noel Jones of Sodor and Man, an Isle of Man diocese of 
the Church of England, proposed to the church's General Synod in 
July that civil ceremonies could be followed by church 
blessings, a common practice in Europe. Church rites would be 
reserved for couples entering a lifelong commitment.

"It would be much more honest of the Church to say that we 
won't marry anybody, because doing so puts them in a position 
where they have said in the presence of God 'We take these vows 
until death us do part'," Jones told the Daily Telegraph 
in an interview before the synod meeting. "I want to prevent 
couples from committing perjury at the altar, which is really 
what it is. The person being remarried is effectively saying, 'I 
didn't really mean it last time' or 'Well, it didn't really go 
quite right'."

Jones said the state has put the church into "a situation which 
is quite impossible" because the priest plays the role of 
"legal, or state, registrar" of a marriage. "The Church is 
forced to respond positively to the fact that the law now says 
there is no reason why marriage should not be contracted a 
second or even a third time. The Church cannot say 'No' to that 
as a general principle, and has reluctantly gone along with it, 
albeit with the conscience clause that allows priests to refuse 
to remarry divorcees," Jones said.

Jones denied he was inviting the church to abandon the 
sacrament of marriage and disagreed with those who viewed his 
proposal as a step towards severing the Church of England's link 
with the state.

Church World Service prepares teachers of English for China

(NCC/CWS News) Orientation has concluded for 14 English 
teachers who will leave the United States August 1 for two 
years' service in the Amity Teachers Program in China.

Church World Service, the global humanitarian ministry of the 
National Council of Churches' 36 Protestant and Orthodox 
communions, coordinates the recruitment of Amity teachers on 
behalf of U.S. churches. The new volunteers, sponsored by member 
denominations and the United Board for Christian Higher 
Education in Asia, join 21 teachers already in China who are 
continuing their service with Amity.

Volunteers serve at Chinese universities and colleges, 
instructing prospective teachers in English as a Second 
Language. Designed to encourage the volunteers to "become 
bridges spanning the human distance between the people and 
churches of their home countries and the Chinese people," the 
teaching program is a key part of Amity, a non-governmental 
organization in China established in 1985 by Chinese Christians. 

The Rev. John L. McCullough, executive director of Church 
World Service, welcomed the teachers at the organization's 
headquarters in New York City. "You are making an extraordinary 
commitment, not only to teach English as a Second Language, but 
also to be real ambassadors of what I see as the goodwill of the 
people of the United States toward the people of China," 
McCullough told the teachers. He encouraged them "to build 
relationships that can last a lifetime and that can be 
transformative not only for you and those you meet but for all 
of us."

The teachers include Episcopalian Beth Roberts of Batavia, 
Ohio, who will be serving at the Fuzhou Institute of Education 
in Fujian.

Some footwear doesn't go with clerical robes, German pastors 
told 

(ENI) High heels, cowboy boots, trainers, slippers and sandals 
have no place with pastors' robes during worship, according to a 
new book of Protestant liturgy for German clergy.

The fashion proscription is among the strongly worded advice 
found in the recently published 590-page Evangelisches 
Gottesdienstbuch - Ergaenzungsband, (or Supplement to the 
Book of Protestant Liturgy) meant to complement an earlier 
liturgy book published in 1999.

The advice is found in a chapter on clergy liturgical 
deportment, which the author sees as integral to the worship 
experience: "Not only preaching, singing and music are essential 
to the service but [also] how the liturgists talk and present 
themselves," said Dr. Hans Christian Knuth, bishop of Schleswig 
and chair of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany, 
in a foreword to the book. Pastors are asked to conduct services 
in a "credible" way. 

"Services are not stage plays or private theatres for 
pastors," Guy W. Rammenzweig, author of the chapter on 
liturgical deportment, told Ecumenical News International. 
"Services are at the center of parish life, and God as well as 
church members are the subjects of it." Rammenzweig also advises 
pastors on a variety of other subjects: how to walk and sit in 
church, how to turn from the altar to face the congregation (be 
led by the heart, he says), how to present the Lord's Supper, 
how to sing or give a blessing. 

Interim headmistress chosen for Guam Episcopal school

(ENS) Jane Harter of Alexandria, Virginia has been appointed 
interim headmistress of St. John's Episcopal School in Tumon, 
Guam, effective July 30. She relieves the Rev. Ned Sherrill, who 
served as headmaster of the school and vicar of St. John's 
Episcopal Church for the past three years. He has returned to 
the mainland U.S.

Harter brings an extensive educational leadership background 
to St. John's School. The Rt. Rev. George E. Packard, bishop for 
Armed Services, Prison Ministry and Health Care in the 
EpiscopalChurch, who also serves as bishop for Micronesia and 
chair of the St. John's School Board of Trustees, said, "She has 
earned the reputation throughout Episcopal Church school circles 
as an innovative and creative educator. Jane has served for over 
25 years as Headmistress of expanding, academically challenging 
elementary, middle and high schools." 

Packard said Harter's "major strengths include highly honed 
interpersonal leadership skills, a thorough grasp of all aspects 
of fund raising, school administration, curriculum and staff 
development. She is a community and team builder who will assist 
St. John's during this important interim period until a new 
headmaster or headmistress can be found."

Upon accepting the interim headmistress position at St. 
John's, Harter said, "It is with great pleasure that I join the 
St. John's School community and embrace the excellence of the 
school--its mission, program, students and people of Guam. I 
look forward to working with a dedicated and hard-working 
faculty, staff and parents on the challenges ahead and 
preparations for the permanent head of school. I love to travel 
and meet people, so I expect my experiences living in Micronesia 
will be very exciting." 

Harter led the National Presbyterian School in Washington, 
D.C., from 1974 to 1997. Since then she has specialized in doing 
interim headmistress jobs at Evergreen Mountain School, 
Evergreen, Colorado (1997-1999); St. Martin's Episcopal School, 
Atlanta, Georgia (1999-2000); Alexandria Country Day School, 
Alexandria, Virginia (2000-2001); St. Andrew's Episcopal School, 
Potomac, Maryland (2001-2002).

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